The Principles of Psychology [tipped in SIGNATURE/inscription] by JAMES, William - 1890

New York: Henry Holt, 1890. First Edition, Third Printing. Original cloth. Very good. First Edition of
James Famous & Foundational Principles of Psychology
Tipped in inscription and signature

JAMES, William. The Principles of Psychology, Henry Holt and Company, New York, 1890. Volume 1: 1 blank leaf + 1 leaf with book ads on recto + TP with tipped in signature and inscription + Dedication page + v - xii + [1] - 689 + 1 blank leaf; Volume 2: 1 blank leaf + 1 leaf with book ads on verso + TP + iii - vi + [1] - 704 + [1] - 8 = ads + 1 blank leaf, Octavo. First Edition, Third Printing. McDermott 1890-4.



This copy is the third printing of the first edition. All three printings of the first edition have 1890 on the title page, but have a few issue points to distinguish them. The first printing has the word "Psy- chology" hyphenated in the book ads opposite the TP. Additionally, the first printing has two misprints: the seat of intellectual power rather than not the sole seat of intellect (Vol. 1, p. 10, l. 9-10) and object of some absent object of sensation rather than just object of some absent sensation (Vol. 2, p. 101, l. 20). The second printing changes the hyphenated Psy-chology to an unhyphenated Psychology and corrects the two misprints but leaves a third misprint uncorrected. The third printing [as offered here] can be distinguished from first and second printings by the correction of "catarral" to "catarrhal" in vol. I, p. 21, line 10.

James's famous, brilliant and long-awaited major work on psychology which emphasized his experimental method and the treatment of psychology as a natural science. This book summarized all of the work that he had been doing at Harvard for the several years preceding its publication.

While more widely known as the proponent of "Radical Empiricism" and "Pragmatism", James's psychology is regarded by many as a far more original and substantive achievement. His nuanced rejection of the subject/object split in favor of a more fluid intersection between self and world, famously figured as a stream of consciousness, reoriented subsequent inquiry into the nature of consciousness and perception, notably influencing thinkers and schools as diverse as Husserl, Piaget, European phenomenology, Gestalt psychology, humanist psychology and cognitive sciences.

CONDITION: Very good(-). Original dark green covers with gilt lettering on the spine. Very lightly worn at head and foot of spine. The covers have the most minor of spotting and discoloration. Signs of old repairs to the inner hinges. Former owners name in ink to both front free endpapers.

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